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First India-Produced 2017 Jeep Compass Rolls Off Assembly Line

Jeep announced its first-ever India-built Compass SUV last week, marking the debut of the right-hand drive compact SUV.

Located in Ranjangaon, a town just outside the Indian city of Pune, the manufacturing facility will be the sole exporter of right-hand drive Jeep Compasses, which will be sold in markets like the United Kingdom and Australia, as well as India. It will hit Indian dealers during the third quarter of 2017, with exports to begin in the fourth quarter of 2017, giving Ranjangaon time to build up some supply.

The Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) facility in India joins others in Brazil, China, and Mexico, each of which build Compass models for their respective regions. The Jeep brand is one of a few American marques that are popular in overseas markets, so the company’s far-reaching, widespread production plan should keep costs low in those international regions.

Helping maintain quality at Ranjangaon and all other company plants is the FCA World Class Manufacturing (WCM) plan, which focuses on eliminating waste, increasing productivity, and improving quality through systematic evaluation. Facility employees are encouraged to make suggestions to their superiors, giving ample opportunities to evaluate and refine best practices, which can then be shared with other FCA manufacturing plants.

“To be part of the development of Jeep Compass and witness its roll out for the first time brings us a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction,” said Gurpratap Boparai, CEO of Fiat India Automobiles Private Limited. “The build quality we have achieved in the development stage of the Compass is truly world class and is an example of superior technological and manufacturing excellence. We are immensely proud that Indian customers can soon own a locally-made Jeep SUV that is built to the highest quality standards.”

Attending the rollout of the first-ever Indian-made Jeep Compass were FCA executives Boparai, Paul Alcala, and Kevin Flynn, as well as local government officials Shri Girish Bapat, Guardian Minister of Pune, and Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Honourable Chief Minister of the state of Maharashtra. The Compass should hit Indian dealerships with over 50 trim and powertrain combinations that include gasoline, diesel, and manual and automatic transmissions.